Chapter 209 Dad Sure Has a Lot of Tricks Up His Sleeve
Sophia didn't dare let him drive, so she went straight to the driver's seat.
William followed behind her and pressed a hand against the car door. "Let me drive."
"I’d still like to live a few more years."
She pushed his hand away, shut the door, sat down, and fastened her seatbelt in one smooth motion.
William's expression softened, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
He walked to the other side and reached for the passenger door, only to find that she had already locked it.
Sophia ordered, "Sit in the back."
Though disappointed, William obediently did as she said and got into the seat behind the passenger side.
He had no doubt that if he really annoyed her, she would leave him on the side of the road without a second thought.
The car drove smoothly away from the Smith family cemetery.
Thinking of the clear “Daddy” Emily had called him earlier, William felt a surge of emotion in his chest.
“Can you let me hear it one more time?” he asked.
There were several traffic lights along the way. Sophia kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead and replied, "No."
William fell silent.
He had been silent quite a lot tonight.
As he watched Sophia drive with serious focus, William suddenly realized that this was the first time since their divorce that the two of them had been alone together in a car.
He couldn't bear to look away.
Sophia could feel his gaze from the back seat, but it didn’t affect her in the slightest. After turning on the music, she focused on driving.
William thought she would ask him why he had treated Henry that way, but all the way to the house, she never asked a single question.
The car stopped in front of William's home.
Sophia said, "The kids are staying with me tonight."
"Don't come around them again until you've sorted out your emotions."
With that, she opened the car door and got out.
Through the gap between the front seats, William watched her walk away. It felt as though someone had dragged him out of an abyss and thrown him back into reality, leaving behind a strange sense of unreality.
She really was all bark and no bite.
His phone vibrated. It was a call from Mark.
"Mr. Smith, we've found Molly. Quinn sent her to Arcturus. I've already sent people over."
William's voice turned cold. "Keep her alive."
Mark paused on the other end, then answered carefully. He was silently relieved that he had almost ordered her dealt with directly.
Just as he was about to hang up, he heard William add, "Arrange for people to buy all the latest pink fox merchandise and send it back home as soon as possible."
Mark blinked. “What? ...Yes, sir.”
Sending a bunch of tough-looking men to an amusement park to buy dolls?
That image was bizarre.
But Emily was adorable. Of course she deserved the newest dolls.
Quinn really did have some tricks up his sleeve, secretly colluding with gang forces in Arcturus to hide Molly so well.
Even so, Mark still found her.
Lately, Molly had been living in constant fear. She had never imagined that, after all her careful scheming, William still wouldn’t fall for it. When she learned that he had sent Henry to a psychiatric hospital, she completely panicked.
Mark looked at the disheveled woman on the ground and ordered, "Tie her up and take her back."
At the sight of the thick rope, Molly shouted, "You can't tie me up! I'm pregnant! It's your boss's child!"
Hearing that, the others stopped and looked toward Mark.
"Pregnant? If you really managed to get pregnant with my boss’s child, I’d actually admire your nerve. What are you all standing there for? Do you believe everything people say? Take her away."
On the way to the airport, they ran into Arcturus gang forces again.
Mark spat on the ground. "Such a tiny place, yet so much trash."
A few days later, after leaving the hospital, William learned that all his physical examination results were normal. His tightly wound nerves finally relaxed. Now that his health was fine and there was no need to worry about it affecting the children, he could now finally be around them without concern.
Over the past few days, Sophia had been busy wrapping up the lab’s final projects.
William, on the other hand, had been making more time for the kids.
Unless absolutely necessary, he handed the company’s overseas business over to managers and vice presidents, arranging online meetings whenever possible.
Every day, he left work on time. He would first pick up Emily from the Johnson residence, then go pick up James and Michael from school.
Today was no exception.
Emily had already changed clothes and was wearing the new little bag Sophia had bought her. The moment she bounced out of the house, William—who had been waiting outside—scooped her up.
She said softly, "Mr. Smith."
William carried her with one arm while taking her water bottle and other things with the other.
Emily stretched out her little hand. "Let's go pick up James and Michael."
William’s heart practically melted at how adorable she was. At that moment, he still knew nothing about what was happening on Mark's end.
Sophia, who had gotten off work early that day, spotted the children the moment she walked out of the lab.
James saw her first. "Mom."
Emily was sitting in the new stroller William had bought, while Michael pushed her around. Hearing James’s voice, both of them looked up and called out to her at the same time.
The fatigue on Sophia's face vanished instantly.
She walked over smiling and kissed each of them on the cheek. "What are you doing here?"
The children grinned. "We came to pick up Mom from work."
There was a large open area in front of the lab with a small seating area.
William sat on a chair in his suit, watching over them. Beside him were James and Michael's backpacks, as well as the little gifts the children had bought for Sophia.
James had bought her a hot coffee, Michael had bought her pastries, and Emily picked up a small bouquet of purple roses from the chair. The three children presented their gifts to her as if offering treasures.
Sophia accepted each one and praised them warmly.
Emily waved the children's watch on her wrist and said proudly, “I used Uncle Lucas's payment code."
Sophia kissed her cheek and teased, "Does Lucas know?"
Remembering what Lucas had told her before, Emily beamed. "Uncle Lucas said I can use it however I want."
Far away overseas, Lucas suddenly sneezed several times in a row.
Thinking of little Emily back home, he quickened his pace as he left the dangerous slum district. Just as he was about to get into the car, someone slammed a club into him.
After learning that the children hadn't eaten yet, Sophia decided to take them to Hidden Feast for dinner.
James and Michael quickly put on their backpacks and took Emily's hands, following behind Sophia.
William, left alone, carried Emily's water bottle and toys behind them.
Sophia had driven herself to work that day, and there was already a child seat in the back. She lifted Emily into it and told James and Michael to climb in from the other side.
Seeing William still holding Emily's things, she held out her hand. "Give them to me."
William didn't move. Instead, Michael helped him out by saying, "Mom, can Dad ride with us too? The driver brought us here, and Dad doesn't have a car to go back in."
William doesn't have a car to go back in?
Meeting Michael’s innocent, candid gaze, Sophia’s lips twitched slightly.
William had done it on purpose.
James also chimed in. "Mom, today Michael and I want to treat you and Dad to dinner."
Both boys looked at her expectantly.
Emily blinked. Since James and Michael were helping William, she couldn't say anything more, or Mom might get upset.
In the end, William successfully got into the passenger seat.
Emily leaned forward, saw the corners of his mouth secretly lifting, and swung her little feet.
Dad really did have a lot of tricks up his sleeve.
But before Sophia and the others reached the restaurant, both of them received urgent calls from their people at the same time.
Their expressions changed instantly.